About the Author

I n the clamour created by the size and scale of

Swati Ramanathan is the urbanisation, we cannot lose sight of the fact that
Co-Founder of Jana Group, and people don’t live in abstract cities- they experience their
Chairperson of Jana Urban lives in neighbourhoods, outside the homes they choose
Space Foundation. She has to rent or buy, in the streets where they walk or drive to
over two decades of extensive drop their children off to school or get to work, at the
experience on urban planning, markets where they shop for groceries. How India copes
urban design and urban policy with urbanisation will ultimately be about the details.
in India.
Those Indians fortunate enough to have travelled
outside the country, look with envy and awe at the
As Advisor to National and State Governments, Ms
pedestrian boulevards of Paris, cycling streets of
Ramanathan works on significant urban planning policy Amsterdam, transport of Hong Kong, iconic skylines of
reforms, on developing urban plans, and on urban design New York, set against silken roads lined with shops and
projects. shoppers. However, these cities that we so admire and
that create such pride among their local residents,
Ms Ramanathan is the recipient of several recognitions emerged out of attention to detail in their planning and
and awards for her work on urban planning and transfor- implementation.
mation, including Young Asian Leader by the Asia Society.
We need to invest similarly in the details of our cities.
Ms Ramanathan has worked in leading architecture firms With Tender SURE we could begin with the most critical
in the US and UK before her return to India to work on aspect of networked infrastructure- urban roads. The
half-kilometre stretch of road in front of our homes has a
urban change. She is a BS from India, and an MS from
visible beginning and end. What is not visible is that this
Pratt Institute, New York.
road is a link in a vital network- local roads, connected by
collector and arterial roads, linked by ring roads, leading
to the highways taking us in and out of the city. Roads
are also the stage where the tableau of urban society can
share space equitably- pedestrians, cyclists, hawkers,
buses, motorists.
Tender S.U.R.E. VOLUMES I & II - are the first
comprehensive guidelines for design-cum-tendering of
Today this vital network is completely fragmented and
city roads in India, and include all aspects of urban roads -
fractured, broken and bereft of planning, leading to
what’s under, on, and above the roads. ever-increasing traffic jams, potholes, and accidents.

Tender S.U.R.E. Guidelines have been formally endorsed Tender SURE tackles the cacophony of India’s urban road
by the Government of Karnataka as the design and woes- providing a systematic, disciplined way to finally
execution standards for urban roads. The first set of address the details of design, procurement, and
Tender SURE roads in Bangalore have been designed and execution of our city roads.
coordinated by Jana Urban Space.

The Tender SURE approach is transformational in three

ways: brownfield urban design for roads that considers

2011
motorised and non-motorised mobility without land
acquisition; integration of five core multi-agency service
networks that run under the road; and overcoming the
challenges of an inefficient and opaque system for
execution.

Jana Urban Space

Foundation Fourth Floor, UNI Building, Thimmiah Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore - 560052
www.janausp.org Ph : +91-80-40790400 | Fax : +91-80-41277104
ABOUT JANA URBAN SPACE FOUNDATION

Jana Urban Space is a Professional Services Social

Enterprise (PSSE), delivering transformational,
world-class work on the spatial dimension of India's
cities.

Jana USP has four inter-disciplinary Studios -

• Urban Planning Studio;
• Urban Design Studio;
• Spatial Mapping & Analytics Studio
• Architecture and Design Studio.

The multiple studios reflect Jana USP's systems-driven

approach to addressing urban Spatial challenges.

Jana Urban Space is a not-for-profit entity.

Project Tender SURE

Legend
TS - Phase 01 ( roads designed and monitored by Jana USP)

TS - Phase 02 ( roads designed and monitored by BBMP)

TS - Phase 03 ( roads to be designed by Jana USP - Part A)

TS - Phase 03 ( roads to be designed by Jana USP - Part B)

TS - Phase 03 ( roads to be designed by others)

Based on the Tender S.U.R.E. Guidelines, Government of Karnataka allocated 200 crores in the 2012 budget, to
redevelop key roads in Bangalore as per Tender SURE Guidelines.

Two parallel projects are currently underway in accordance to the Tender SURE Guidelines in Bengaluru - the first
set of Tender SURE roads have been awarded to RNS, for five roads to be taken up directly under the BBMP design
and execuation supervision (Nrupanthunga Road, KG road, etc). The second set of seven roads are contracted out
to NAPC, under the design and supervision of Jana Urban Space (St Marks Road, Cunningham Road etc).

The execution of the Tender SURE project has undergone complex challenges from inception. Many of these
challenges were due to the design integration efforts needed across multiple civic agencies: this was the first time
that different agencies were coming together to make joint decisions, and that too, in a time-bound manner. As a
result of all this, the field and design support to the contractor to enable good execution, was unimaginably
complex. The learning process was also a factor, given the pioneering nature of the project.

Based on the success of phase 01 of the project, the Chief Minister of Karnataka has announced 50 more Tender
S.U.R.E roads in the 2016-2017 budget. When the list of roads was announced, residents of many areas complained
about being left out of the Tender SURE project.

If public demand and political response to such demand, are considered as the ultimate test of any idea in a
democracy, Tender SURE has proven its merit through this rite of passage.
Proof of Concept

St.Marks Road before Tender SURE

St.Marks Road after Tender SURE

St.Marks Road
Right-of-Way : Varies between 15M to 30M
Length: 0.9 KM
Construction Duration: March 2013 to June 2015
Contractor: Ms NAPC Pvt Ltd

Before Tender S.U.R.E - St.Marks Road, named after the St.Marks Cathedral is part of the original British
Cantonment, historically significannt to the city, and now part of the central business district of Bangalore and an
important movement corridor connecting North and South. Before Tender S.U.R.E the road was plagued with poorly
placed fixtures and constantly leaking pipes, pot holes travel lanes of varying widths, discontinuous footpaths, and
disorganised parking creating chaotic situations for all modes of movement.

After Tender S.U.R.E - St.Marks Road has uniform vehicular travel lanes, each 3M wide with a shyness of 500mm
on either side, allowing for smooth flow of vehicles at steady speeds and designated parking. There is a cycle track on
one side of the road and safe continuous footpaths on both sides of the road. Landscape strips seaparte the non
motorised movement from the vehicular travel lanes. Organised undergrouns utilities, clean geometric design, well
spaced utilities, and a legible way finding system have made St.Marks Road a landmark destination for Bangalore.
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